The present invention relates to a matboard and/or backing board and to methods of making and using it. Matboard and/or backing board is used as a barrier for protecting artwork on paper or in acrhival packaging or in picture or artwork framing.
The invention further generally relates to matboard and/or backing board comprised of an outer layer that is a protective layer and a vapor barrier; e.g., preferably PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT or mixtures thereof; and methods for making and using the same.
The invention also relates in a first advantageous embodiment to a matboard comprising: a first layer of mat paper (of any various color), advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; a second layer of adhesive, advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; a third layer of board core, e.g., chipboard core or solid white core or cotton fiber board, advantageously alum and/or lignin free, preferably alum and lignin free, and also advantageously alkaline, such as pH of greater than 7.0 , e.g., pH of about 7.1 to about 10.0 such as a pH of about 7.2 to about 9.5; a fourth layer of adhesive, advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; and a fifth layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof. Advantageously, the first, second, third, fourth and fifth layers are in direct contact (first to second, second to first and third, third to second and fourth, fourth to third and fifth and fifth to fourth).
The invention also relates in a second advantageous embodiment to a backing board comprising: a first layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof; a second layer of adhesive, advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; a third layer of board core, e.g., chipboard core or solid white core or cotton fiber board, advantageously alum and/or lignin free, preferably alum and lignin free, and also advantageously alkaline, such as pH of greater than 7.0, e.g., pH of about 7.1 to about 10.0 such as a pH of about 7.2 to about 9.5; a fourth layer of adhesive, advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; and a fifth layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof. Advantageously, the first, second, third, fourth and fifth layers are in direct contact (first to second, second to first and third, third to second and fourth, fourth to third and fifth and fifth to fourth).
The inventive matboard and/or backing board can be any suitable size or shape, e.g., round, square, rectangle, etc. The sizes and shapes for an inventive matboard and/or backing board can be matched to artwork or archival document and the like for which it is to be used as backing. The protective and vapor barrier layer (e.g., PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof) is advantageously non-reactive, and acid free, and more advantageously neutral, non-reactive and a protective barrier against the migration of trace amounts of acid, moisture and other contaminants that might potentially damage artwork, archival documents and the like.
More generally, the protective and vapor barrier layer is advantageously a thermoplastic such as a polyethylene terephthalate (polyester; or PET), or a polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), or a copolymer of polyethylene terephthalate (polyester; or PET), or copolymer of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), or a polypropylene, or a polyethylene such as a polyethylene from a single site catalyst system, or a metal foil. In preferred embodiments, this layer is from PET, PBT, cope, coPBT or mixtures thereof, most preferably, PET; and, this layer can be metallized, e.g., in gold, silver or another color.
The first, third and fifth layers of the aforementioned first and second advantageous embodiments are joined in any desired manner, preferably via lamination with the second and fourth adhesive layers (e.g., polyvinyl acetate or xe2x80x9cPVAxe2x80x9d layers) as described above together. Thus, in a further embodiment, the invention relates to a matboard or a backing board comprising the first, third and fifth layers of the aforementioned first and second advantageous embodiments.
The invention therefore contemplates a method of manufacture comprising laminating the first, third and fifth layers via the second and fourth adhesive layers.
And, the invention contemplates methods of using the matboard and/or backing board, e.g., providing a matboard and/or backing board of the invention and placing artwork or an archival document or picture upon it, and optionally framing the artwork, document or picture in a frame (with or without glass or plastic over the artwork, document or picture) with the artwork, document or picture against the matboard and/or backing board.
Other aspects of the invention are described herein or are obvious from this text. In this text, xe2x80x9ccomprisingxe2x80x9d is used in the sense attributed to it in U.S. Patent Law; e.g., it can mean xe2x80x9cincludingxe2x80x9d. Various documents are cited in this text (xe2x80x9cherein cited documentsxe2x80x9d). Herein cited documents and documents cited or referenced in herein cited documents, are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
A standard matboard can be composed of mat facing paper buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, a PVA layer buffered to a pH of 7.5-8.0, regular unbleached pulp core (acid free by not totally lignin free), another PVA layer, and a backing of alkaline book paper (acid free, but porous and not a barrier to the passage of contaminants).
White core matboard can be composed of mat facing paper buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, a PVA layer buffered to a pH of 7.5-8.0, a solid white core (alum and lignin free and alikaline with a pH of 7.2 to 9.5), another PVA layer, and a backing of alkaline book paper (acid free, but porous and not a barrier to the passage of contaminants).
Museum board can be composed of one to several layers of 100% cotton fiber board laminated with all natural starch adhesive, acid free and buffered with 3% calcium carbonate to a Ph of 8.5 to 9.5 and alum free and alkaline with no lignin. This board can be porous and not a barrier to the passage of contaminants.
Reference is also made to Williams et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,356, and Hollinger, Jr., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,489,120, 5,525,296, 5,633,054, 5,693,384, 5,714,120, and 5,922,280. These documents fail to teach or suggest a matboard and/or backing board as herein described.
Thus, it is a problem in the art that matboards and backing boards can be porous; fail to include an outer layer of a protective and vapor barrier film such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof, or as described herein. For better preservation of artwork and documents and pictures, it would be desirable to provide matboards and backing boards can be porous; fail to include an outer layer of a protective and vapor barrier film such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof, or as described herein. It is also believed that heretofore the art has not provided, taught or suggested a matboard and/or backing board or methods for making or using the same as in the present invention.
It is an object of the invention to address any or all of the issues raised by the prior art. It is further an object of the invention to provide matboards and backing boards that include an outer layer of a protective and vapor barrier film such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof, or as described herein; and methods for making and using such matboards and backing boards.
The invention thus provides a matboard and/or backing board comprised of an outer layer that is a protective layer and a vapor barrier; e.g., preferably PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT or mixtures thereof; and methods for making and using the same.
The invention also provides in a first advantageous embodiment a matboard comprising: a first layer of mat paper (of any various color), advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; a second layer of adhesive, advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; a third layer of board core, e.g., chipboard core or solid white core or cotton fiber board, advantageously alum and/or lignin free, preferably alum and lignin free, and also advantageously alkaline, such as pH of greater than 7.0, e.g., pH of about 7.1 to about 10.0 such as a pH of about 7.2 to about 9.5; a fourth layer of adhesive, advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; and a fifth layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof. Advantageously, the first, second, third, fourth and fifth layers are in direct contact (first to second, second to first and third, third to second and fourth, fourth to third and fifth and fifth to fourth).
The invention also provides in a second advantageous embodiment a backing board comprising: a first layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof; a second layer of adhesive, advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; a third layer of board core, e.g., chipboard core or solid white core or cotton fiber board, advantageously alum and/or lignin free, preferably alum and lignin free, and also advantageously alkaline, such as pH of greater than 7.0, e.g., pH of about 7.1 to about 10.0 such as a pH of about 7.2 to about 9.5; a fourth layer of adhesive, advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; and a fifth layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof. Advantageously, the first, second, third, fourth and fifth layers are in direct contact (first to second, second to first and third, third to second and fourth, fourth to third and fifth and fifth to fourth).
The inventive matboard and/or backing board can be any suitable size or shape, e.g., round, square, rectangle, etc. The sizes and shapes for an inventive matboard and/or backing board can be matched to artwork or archival document and the like for which it is to be used as backing. The protective and vapor barrier layer (e.g., PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof) is advantageously non-reactive, and acid free, and more advantageously neutral, non-reactive and a protective barrier against the migration of trace amounts of acid, moisture and other contaminants that might potentially damage artwork, archival documents and the like.
More generally, the protective and vapor barrier layer is advantageously a thermoplastic such as a polyethylene terephthalate (polyester; or PET), or a polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), or a copolymer of polyethylene terephthalate (polyester; or PET), or copolymer of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), or a polypropylene, or a polyethylene such as a polyethylene from a single site catalyst system, or a metal foil. In preferred embodiments, this layer is from PET, PBT, coPET, coPBT or mixtures thereof, most preferably, PET; and, this layer can be metallized, e.g., in gold, silver or another color.
The first, third and fifth layers of the aforementioned first and second advantageous embodiments are joined in any desired manner, preferably via lamination with the second and fourth adhesive layers (e.g., polyvinyl acetate or xe2x80x9cPVAxe2x80x9d layers) as described above together. However, the adhesive layers can also be extruded; and likewise, the outer protective and vapor barrier layer(s) can be extruded (which in certain instances can avoid the use of adhesive layer(s)).
Thus, in further embodiments, the invention relates to a matboard or a backing board comprising the first, third and fifth layers of the aforementioned first and second advantageous embodiments. Accordingly, the invention provides a matboard comprising: a first layer of mat paper (of any various color), advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; a second layer of board core, e.g., chipboard core or solid white core or cotton fiber board, advantageously alum and/or lignin free, preferably alum and lignin free, and also advantageously alkaline, such as pH of greater than 7.0, e.g., pH of about 7.1 to about 10.0 such as a pH of about 7.2 to about 9.5; and a third layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof. And, the invention provides a backing board comprising: a first layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof; a second layer of board core, e.g., chipboard core or solid white core or cotton fiber board, advantageously alum and/or lignin free, preferably alum and lignin free, and also advantageously alkaline, such as pH of greater than 7.0, e.g., pH of about 7.1 to about 10.0 such as a pH of about 7.2 to about 9.5; and a third layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof. Advantageously, the first, second, and third, layers are advesively joined, i.e., there is an adhesive layer between the first and second and the second and third layers, e.g., an adhesive advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate or other suitable adhesive advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0. The adhesive layers can be applied on or extruded onto the other layers. And, the outer protective and vapor barrier layers can also be extruded (which in certain instances can avoid the use of an adhesive layer). Accordingly in this three layer backing board embodiment, the first, second, and third layers can be in direct contact (first to second, second to first and third, third to second).
Additionally, in a further embodiment, the invention can include a matboard comprising: a first layer of mat paper (of any various color), advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; a second layer of adhesive, advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0, for instance a layer of polyvinyl acetate advantageously buffered to the basic side of neutral pH, e.g., greater than pH 7, such as pH of greater than 7.0 to about 9.0 or about 7.5 to about 8.0; a third layer of board core, e.g., chipboard core or solid white core or cotton fiber board, advantageously alum and/or lignin free, preferably alum and lignin free, and also advantageously alkaline, such as pH of greater than 7.0, e.g., pH of about 7.1 to about 10.0 such as a pH of about 7.2 to about 9.5; and a fourth layer, which is an outer layer, of a vapor barrier and protective material, such as PET, PBT, co-PET, co-PBT and mixtures thereof. In this embodiment, the first, second, third, and fourth layers can be in direct contact (first to second, second to first and third, third to second and fourth, fourth to third).
The invention therefore contemplates a method of manufacture comprising laminating the first, third and fifth layers of the first and second advantageous embodiments via the second and fourth adhesive layers; or extruding the first and fifth layers of the second advantageous embodiment directly onto the core third layer thereof; or extruding the first or the fifth layer of the second advantageous embodiment directly onto the core third layer thereof and adhesively laminating the other of the first or fifth layer thereof onto the core third layer; or adhesively laminating the first and third layers of the first advantageous embodiment and extruding the fifth layer onto the core third layer thereof..
And, the invention contemplates methods of using the matboard and/or backing board, e.g., providing a matboard and/or backing board of the invention and placing artwork or an archival document or picture (e.g., poster, photograph) upon it, and optionally framing the artwork, document or picture in a frame (with or without glass or plastic over the artwork, document or picture) with the artwork, document or picture against the matboard and/or backing board. These methods can be methods for framing artwork, a picture or a document, or methods for preserving artwork, a picture or a document.
The solid white core, cotton fiber board core, and chipboard core can be known types of core used in matboards and backing boards; and, can be of a thickness as in known matboards and backing boards. The mat facing paper can also be as in known matboards; and, can be of a thickness as in known matboards.
A typical machine for lamination useful in the practice of the invention is an Inta-roto Laminator or a Parry Linear or Waldron Coater. However, any suitable web-laminating machine may be used in the practice of the invention; and, from this disclosure and the knowledge in the art, one skilled in the art can obtain or design a suitable machine. The adhesive layer(s) can be approximately 0.0002 to about 0.001 inches thick or thicker; for instance about 0.0003 to about 0.0005 inches thick or thicker. The protective and vapor barrier layer can be approximately 0.0004 to about 0.001 inches thick or thicker.
The invention therefore contemplates a method of manufacture preferably comprising adhesively joining or laminating the first, third and fifth layers via the second and fourth layers of the first and second advantageous embodiments (or adhesively joining the first and third layers via the second layer of the first advantageous embodiment and extruding the fifth outer protective and vapor barrier layer directly to the third layer and thereby avoiding the fourth adhesive layer thereof).
These and other embodiments are disclosed or are obvious from and encompassed by, the following Detailed Description.